WEEKLY REFLECTION

Marriage Made In Heaven

Recently when Patty and I were on vacation we spent a day in New York City. We visited St Patrick’s Cathedral. To say the least, it was impressive, I don’t believe we could even build something like that today. While we were at the Cathedral, a wedding took place and it got me thinking about the Sacrament of Marriage.

We have to realize that marriage is not about “me.” If we are getting married to find happiness, then we should not get married. Marriage is about helping each other get to heaven, that’s why Christ gave us this Sacrament, to help us get to Heaven. Marriage is about working for the good of the other and submitting to the needs of the other first.

St. Paul told us in his Letter to the Ephesians, we are to be subordinate to each other out of our love for Christ. Christ should be the center of our marriage. The more we love Jesus the more we love each other. In the case of marriage, submitting to the other is a voluntary choice. We are taught that Christ is the bridegroom and we, the Church, are the bride. Christ voluntarily died for the Church, for us. He wasn’t forced by the Father to come to earth and die. He chose to do so because it was for our greatest good. And so, it goes for marriage, we choose to be subordinate, we choose to bring happiness to the other.

Our vocation of marriage should be an anchor of holiness for the Church, for our family, and for the world. So often when we think of the greater Church, of holy people, we think of priests, bishops, or sisters, but let us go back to Genesis, “God created man in His image, in His divine image he created him, male and female He created them.” We all know this was the first marriage when God created Adam and Eve, and this shows us that marriage is the anchor for unity, for holiness, in the Church, in the family, and in the world. God made man and wife first.

Out of a marriage comes children, and the parents should be the primary teachers, the ones who hand down the faith. The Church is there to assist you as parents. Good, healthy, holy marriages are good for family life, marriages are good for the Church, and for the world.

Marriage was designed by God, not man, it was designed to help get us to heaven. But over the centuries man has tried to redesign this gift of God’s by shifting to an earthly selfish focus. This has resulted in an attack on men, women, and the family. Also, our society suffers unnecessary heartaches because of this breakdown of marriage.

In the grandeur of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, we said a prayer for the newly married couple. Let us all pray for the vocation, for the Sacrament, for the gift of marriage. Let us remember that we get married because we want to love Christ more. We marry to give happiness and not to receive happiness. Let us remember that marriage is the anchor of holiness for the Church, for our families and the world.

Register soon for the Day of Prayer that will be held on October 19. The theme this year is vocations. There are a lot of great speakers coming from all over the Diocese. This is the perfect time for us to learn more about and pray for all of the vocations of the Church including Holy Matrimony.

Deacon Gary

Mass Schedule

WEEKLY REFLECTION